System and method for providing call-back options

ABSTRACT

A system and method for providing call-back options is disclosed. The method comprises receiving a call in a call routing system, providing at least one call-back option for a caller to receive a call-back, re-allocating resources in the call routing system based at least in part on the at least one call-back option, and calling the caller based on the at least one call-back option. The caller may specify a specific time, a relative time, or a time range when a call-back is preferred. The caller may also specify one or more telephone numbers in combination with the time preferences. The call-back may be initiated by a voice response unit (VRU) and additional call-back options may be presented to the customer who responds to the call-back.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/821,955, filed on Apr. 12, 2004, which claims priority from U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/526,138 filed on Dec. 2, 2003. Thisapplication is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/286,767,filed on Nov. 4, 2002, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/349,960, filed on Jul. 9, 1999, now U.S. Pat.No. 6,553,113. All of these patent applications are herein incorporatedby reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a system and method forrouting phone calls to provide a positive and personalized serviceenvironment. More particular the present invention relates to a systemand method for providing call-back options.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is increasingly common that consumers seek service from businessconcerns using the telephone. For example, a consumer seeking to placean order, schedule a delivery, file a complaint, or query an accountbalance may place a call to a centralized number provided by a businessconcern. It is well known that businesses often provide such numbers asso-called toll-free “800” numbers or the like. Some toll-free sites areso-called “virtual call centers,” where callers interact with a“front-end” interactive voice response unit (IVR or VRU) before theircalls are routed to agents at call centers at different geographiclocations.

Due to high call volumes and limited system resources, calls received ata virtual call center may be queued according to the order in which theyare received. A caller sometimes may have to wait on line for anextended period of time before an agent becomes available. There are anumber of disadvantages in keeping customers on hold. First of all, suchlong and boring experiences often result in customer dissatisfaction.Second, running out of time or being impatient, some customers mayprematurely end the call, which may result in loss of sales. Inaddition, keeping a number of phone lines actively connected to avirtual call center for a long time also means more costs for the hostbusiness.

A few solutions have been proposed to alleviate these problems. Somesolutions attempt to estimate a length of time that a caller may have towait before a call center agent becomes available. The estimated waittime is typically announced to the caller periodically when the calleris on hold. Another solution goes one step further by not onlyestimating an estimated wait-time but also offering to call the callerback after the estimated time period expires. However, these solutionsonly provide limited options for the caller and are not flexible intheir implementations.

Other problems and drawbacks also exist.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it would desirable to provide a solution formanaging phone calls at a virtual call center which overcomes theabove-described deficiencies and shortcomings.

It is one advantage of the present invention to enhance customersatisfaction by providing callers with flexible call-back options.

It is another advantage of the present invention to improve theefficiency of a virtual call center or a call routing system byeffectively allocating system resources.

To achieve these and other advantages of the present invention, and inaccordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadlydescribed, an embodiment of the present invention comprises a method forproviding call-back options. The method comprises receiving a call in acall routing system; providing at least one call-back option for acaller to receive a call-back; re-allocating resources in the callrouting system based at least in part on the at least one call-backoption; and calling the caller based on the at least one call-backoption.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a system forproviding call-back options. The system comprises means for receiving acall in a call routing system; means for providing at least onecall-back option for a caller to receive a call-back; means forre-allocating resources in the call routing system based at least inpart on the at least one call-back option; and means for calling thecaller based on the at least one call-back option.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitutepart of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention. It will become apparent from the drawingsand detailed description that other objects, advantages and benefits ofthe invention also exist.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description that follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectsand other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained bythe system and methods, particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The purpose and advantages of the present invention will be apparent tothose of skill in the art from the following detailed description inconjunction with the appended drawings in which like referencecharacters are used to indicate like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary call routing systemin which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for providingcall-back options according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for providingcall-back options according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of theinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for providingcall-back options according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step 200, a phone call may be received from a caller (“customer”).The caller may be calling into a call routing system for a number ofreasons. For example, the caller may be an existing customer calling forcustomer service. Or the caller may be a potential customer calling tomake inquiries and/or place orders. The caller may be greeted by aninteractive voice response unit (IVR or VRU). The IVR may collectinformation from the caller (e.g., using touch-tone activated voicemenus and/or voice-recognition technology). According to one embodimentof the invention, at least part of the caller's information may beidentified or confirmed via Automatic Number Identification (ANI). Forexample, the call routing system may automatically identify the phonenumber from which the call originates and retrieve account informationassociated with the identified phone number.

In step 202, call routing decisions may be made. Based on theinformation collected, decisions may be made to route the call to aproper target (e.g., a qualified agent at a queue at a call site). Atthe same time and/or following the call decisioning, an assessment ofthe system resources may be made. The system resources may include, forexample, the number of phone lines available for call routing, thenumber of call site centers and/or qualified agents available to handlethe call.

In step 204, it may be determined whether the call routing system isready to service the call soon. Based on the call routing decision(s)and/or resource assessment, it may be estimated as to how long thecaller will have to wait before the call can be properly routed andadequately serviced by a qualified agent. Sometimes, a call routingsystem can be overloaded with inbound calls and a long queue of callersmay already have been kept waiting for service. If that is the case, itmay be determined that the system is not ready for prompt service of thecall. Therefore, in step 206, the caller may be notified of thesituation and offered a number of options to receive a call-back at alater time.

The decision on call-routing and/or call-back options may also be basedat least in part on a priority of the caller. A caller may have beencategorized into different priority classes depending on the caller'sidentity, account status and business relation, etc. Callers with higherpriorities may require more expedited services than those with lowerpriorities.

The threshold(s) for call routing and call-back options may be flexiblyconfigured and updated by an administrator of the call-routing system.As mentioned above, the threshold(s) may take into account variousfactors such as length of queue, priorities of the callers, andavailability of system resources, for example. The status of thecall-routing system may be dynamically monitored and compared to thepredetermined thresholds. If one or more of the thresholds are met, thefunctions associated with call-back options may be triggered.

If the estimated wait is relatively short, the call may be immediatelyrouted to its proper target and queued for service in step 210. Whilethe caller is waiting on line to be serviced, call-back options maystill be available in step 212. For example, if somehow the wait islonger than initially estimated or if the caller somehow has to get offline sooner, the caller may still choose to receive a call-back at adifferent time. The call-back options may be accessible, for example, bypressing one or more touch-tone buttons.

The call-back options as offered in steps 206 and 212 may be presentedto the caller via an interactive voice response unit. For example, avoice may announce to the caller, “We can take your information and callyou back.” Then a number of call-back options may be presented for thecaller to select.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system mayoffer to call the caller back at a first opportunity, i.e. as soon assystem resources become available to service this particular caller.

Or the system may offer to call the caller at a specific time. Forexample, the caller may specify a preferred time or time range toreceive a call-back. For example, the caller may choose to receive acall-back at or around 8 PM, or between 8 PM and 8:30 PM. The caller mayalso have the option to specify more than one time or time range toreceive the call-back. For example, the caller may enter a second orthird preferred time or time range to receive the call-back. In theevent when the system is not able to call or reach the caller at thefirst specified time or time range, a second or third attempt may bemade to reach the caller.

Another call-back option may be to call the caller at a relative time ortime range with respect to the time of the current call. For example,the caller may choose to receive a call-back in exactly three hours orduring the next two hours. Again, a second and third choice may beselected in case the caller cannot be reached at the first specifiedtime or time range.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the above describedcall-back options may be combined. For example, a caller at work who isleaving the office in four hours may have the system to call back assoon as possible during the next four hours or otherwise to call backthe next day during work hours when the caller is back in the office. Inaddition, one or more phone numbers may be provided by the caller toindicate where the caller would like to receive the call-back.Furthermore, different phone numbers may be provided in each of thecall-back options and/or their combinations. For example, the caller mayhave the system call a business phone during the day and a home phone inthe evening hours. If no phone number has been specified by the callerfor the call-back purpose, the number from which the current call ismade (“Caller ID”) may become a default call-back number. Othervariations and/or combinations of call-back options are also available.

In step 208, the caller may select a call-back option. If the callerdoes not make a selection or choose to stay on line, the call may berouted and queued for service in step 210. If the caller does choose oneof the available call-back options, the caller's selection may berecorded in step 214. The caller's selection may include the preferredphone number(s) by which the caller can be reached and the preferredtime or time range(s) when the call-back is expected. According toembodiments of the present invention, the caller may also leave one ormore voicemail messages to provide additional information associatedwith the call and call-back. Further, the caller may visit a designatedInternet website to enter the call-back options. For example, the IVRmay announce the website address. The caller may choose to hang up andgo online to specify the above-described call-back preferences includingtime, phone number(s) and combinations thereof. The call-backpreferences may be communicated to the call-routing system via a networkconnection.

According to one embodiment, the initial phone call, the selection ofcall-back options, and/or the call-back operation may be carried outover the Internet (e.g., Voice over IP or VoIP) or may be based on othertelephony technologies (e.g., voice recognition). For example, as acaller makes a VoIP call from a networked computer to a call center, thecaller may be able to select a call-back option in a variety of ways.Apart from the touch-tone method, voice recognition technology may beused to record the caller's response or a web dialog window may pop outon the caller's screen for selection of call-back options.

In step 216, resources of the call routing system may be re-allocatedbased at least in part on the call-back options recorded and/oraccumulated in the system. During times of high demand, an increasingnumber of callers may have selected call-back options. In the meantime,as agents continue to process existing calls in the queue(s), systemresources may become available. As a result, the system resources, suchas the phone lines and qualified agents, may be re-allocated to servicenew incoming calls and the scheduled call-backs. According to oneembodiment of the present invention, a resource re-allocation strategymay be implemented by the call routing system to dynamically assess thedemands on the system versus available resources, and allocate thelimited resources for different call-processing tasks. For example, thenumber of live callers and scheduled call-backs may be considered indetermining what portion of the agents may be switched to servicecall-backs. In addition, the call-backs may be prioritized based on aplurality of predetermined criteria. For example, call-backs concerningmore urgent or time-sensitive businesses may have higher priorities thanthe others. The call-backs may also be prioritized based on the priorityclasses of the callers.

In step 218, the customer may be called based on the call-back optionselected. According to an embodiment of the present invention, thecall-back may be initiated by a live agent or an interactive voiceresponse unit. For example, an IVR may dial a number at a certain time,where the number has been specified by the customer and the time is inaccordance with the call-back option selected earlier by the customer.

In step 220, it may be determined if the caller is available to take thecall. If no one answers the phone and a voicemail prompt is heard, theIVR may leave a message for the customer in step 224 and the system mayschedule another call-back in a later time.

If the customer answers the phone, the system may proceed with thecall-back in step 222. For example, the IVR may greet the customer witha voice saying “Your call is scheduled . . . can you take it now?” TheIVR may give the customer further interactive options such as taking thecall now, rescheduling the call or canceling the call. If the customerdecides to take the call, the call may be routed to be serviced by alive agent immediately. If the customer decides to reschedule the call,the same or a similar menu of call-back options as described above maybe presented to the customer for selection. Based on the customer'sresponse to the call-back and/or the further options, informationconcerning this customer's call-back options may be updated in the callrouting system.

The exemplary method ends in step 226.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the above describedmethod for providing call-back options may be implemented in a number ofways. It may be integrated in a call routing system or operate as anadd-on system to an existing call-routing system or call site centersystem.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary call routing systemin which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/286,767, entitled “System and Methods forCall Decisioning in a Virtual Call Center Integrating Telephony withComputers,” filed on Nov. 4, 2002, discloses a server-based call routingsystem, an overview of which is illustrated in FIG. 1. This call routingsystem comprises central server system 100; data logger system 110;administrative controller system 115; call router database 105; IVRsystem1 125; IVR system2 120; call site center system1 145; call sitecenter system2 150; call site center system3 155; IXC interface 127;inter-exchange carrier (IXC) 130; local exchange carrier 135; webinterface 160; and caller 140.

Central server system 100 comprises a server system for centralizedcontrol over the call routing and call-back options in the call routingsystem. Generally, central server system 100 includes hardware andsoftware for supporting system administration, database management,carrier network interface, and transmission/reception of data to/fromthe central IVR's (blocks 120 and 125) and call site center systems(blocks 145-155). In general, central server system 100 receives routingrequests from inter-exchange carrier (IXC) 130, processes said requestsas well as other information, and then issues a return route address toDCC 130 to control where a call is routed.

Data logger system 110 comprises hardware and software for loggingactivity of the call routing system. Administrative controller system115 may comprise a workstation or the like for administering andmonitoring the call routing system. Call router database (CRD) 105comprises storage means for storing data for the call router system. IVRsystem1 125 and IVR system2 120 collect information from callers (e.g.,using touch-tone activated voice menus) in order to route calls to theproper target, such as to a qualified agent at a queue at a call site.

Call site center systems 1-3 (blocks 145-155) comprise call sites forreceiving calls forwarded by IXC 130. Generally, said call sites willcomprise one or more so-called peripherals capable of receiving calls,such as local VRU's, PBX's (Private Branch Exchange), and ACD's(Automatic Call Distributors). Said call sites generally include agentsand agent workstations for human-assisted call processing.

IXC interface 127 represents hardware/software that may be required toconvert data transmitted between IXC 130 and central server system 100.IXC 130 represents the long distance carrier network that is controlledby central server system 100 to route calls to call sites and queues atthe different geographic locations. Local exchange carrier (LXC) 135represents a local phone network the receives a customer's call in alocal area for forwarding to IXC 130.

Web interface 160 may be an interface or connection between an internetwebsite and the central server system 100. User 140 may interact withthe website to enter call-back preferences that are subsequentlycommunicated to the central server system 140 and stored in CRD 105.

In this call routing system as depicted in FIG. 1, the method forproviding call-back options in accordance with the present invention maybe implemented, both at the system level and at the call site level.

At the system level, all the activities related to call-back options maybe controlled and coordinated by central server system 100. For example,when caller 140 calls in, the call may be first forwarded (i.e.,pre-routed) to one of the IVR systems (e.g., IVR system 1 125). Caller140 can receive automated servicing and access his/her account(s) usingtouch-tone controlled menus. If caller 140 seeks servicing by a liveagent, a routing request may be sent to central server system 100.Central server system 100 may interact with CRD 105, data logger system110, administrative controller system 115 and other system resources tomake a call-routing decision. Central server system 100 may not onlyidentify a suitable call-routing target (e.g., call site center and/oragent) for the service requested, but also assess the availability ofthe target. For example, it may be determined how many callers arealready queued for the target and how long caller 140 may be keptwaiting. If the call site center and/or agent is immediately availableto service the call, the call may be routed accordingly. If, however,the call site center and/or agent is not immediately available, centralserver system 100 may instruct IVR system1 125 to present a plurality ofcall-options to caller 140. If caller 140 chooses to stay on line, thecall may be routed to the suitable target and queued for service. Ifcaller 140 selects one of the call-back options, the caller's call-backpreferences and any additional information may be recorded by IVRsystem1 125 and sent to central server system 100, where the call-backinformation is processed before being sent to CRD 105 for storage.

Central server system 100 may continuously or periodically assess thesystem resources, re-allocate the resources, and schedule call-backs.When it is time for a scheduled call-back, central server system 100 mayretrieve the relevant caller information and call-back information fromCRD 105 and pass the information on to one of the IVR systems (e.g., IVRsystem2 120) with instructions to initiate a call-back.

At the call site level, the call-back options may be provided to thecallers in a service queue for a call site center or call agent. Muchlike the operations at the system level, the resources of the call sitecenter may be evaluated against ongoing service requests. The resourcesmay be dynamically re-allocated between the service for live callers andthe service for call-backs.

As noted earlier, the call-back options may be implemented in an add-onsystem to an existing call-routing system or call site center system.FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system 300 forproviding call-back options according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. System 300 comprises an I/O Interface 302, a Control Module304, a Voice Response Unit (VRU) 306, a Storage Module 308, and a WebInterface 310. I/O Interface 302 may function as an data/voice interfacebetween System 300 and an exist call-routing system or call site centersystem. For example, connections may be made through I/O Interface 302for telephone voice streams as well as computer data streams. ControlModule 304 may be a processor capable of data manipulation, logicoperation and mathematical calculation. It can also interact with theother components in System 300 and coordinate their operations. VRU 306may have interactive means (e.g., touch-activated voice menus) tocommunicate with callers and collect information from them. StorageModule 308 may comprise storage means (e.g., semiconductor memory, harddisk, nonvolatile memory and CD-ROM etc.) for storing call-back relatedinformation such as caller data and call-back preferences. Web Interface310 may comprise an internet website where a caller or visitor mayinteractively enter call-back options.

In operation, System 300 may interact with the existing call system toprovide call-back options. System 300 may either be a passivesubordinate to the existing system or it may actively supplement theexisting system with call-back functions. In a passive role, System 300may simply receive calls routed from the existing system. For example,if a caller's queue in the existing system reaches a predeterminedlength, additional calls may be automatically routed to System 300. Inan active role, System 300 may evaluate system load of the existingsystem, identify the callers who might need call-back options, andre-route those calls. Control Module 304 may receive caller data as wellas other information or instructions from the existing system via I/OInterface 302. Accordingly Control Module 304 may give instructions toVRU 306 to greet the caller, offer the call-back options and record thecaller's selection. Alternatively, the caller may be directed to visitan internet website associated with Web Interface 310 to enter call-backoptions. The call-back related information may then be processed inControl Module 304, where the call-backs may be prioritized andscheduled. The processed data may be stored in Storage Module 308.Control Module 304 may receive status reports from the existing systemand use the status data in processing the call-backs. When it is timefor a scheduled call-back, Control Module 304 may retrieve the relevantdata from Storage Module 308, instruct VRU 306 to initiate a call to thecustomer, and coordinate with the existing system to route the call to aproper target.

At this point, it should be noted that the system and method forproviding call-back options in accordance with the present invention arenot limited to inbound calls into a call-routing system. In fact,call-back options may be provided to any person who attempts tocommunicate with a business or individual. The communication may be viamail, telephone, internet or in person, for example. If such is thecase, it is within the scope of this invention.

While the foregoing description includes many details and specificities,it is to be understood that these have been included for purposes ofexplanation only, and are not to be interpreted as limitations of thepresent invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatother modifications to the embodiments described above can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, such modifications are considered within the scope of theinvention as intended to be encompassed by the following claims andtheir legal equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented call routing methodimplemented by a call routing system for regulating activity of multiplecall centers, the call routing system including at least a centralserver system having a processing unit, the method comprising: receivingnotification of inbound calls at the call routing system; collectinginformation from at least one caller; selecting, based on the collectedinformation, a call target at one of multiple call centers for the atleast one caller; determining, using the processing unit, unavailabilityof the call target at the selected call center selected based on thecollected information for at least one of the inbound calls; providingmultiple selectable call-back options as instructed by the processingunit in response to the at least one inbound call, the call-back optionsproviding for at least one inbound caller to receive a call-back;receiving a selection of at least one of the multiple call-back optionsand sending the selection to the processing unit; scheduling, using theprocessing unit, a call-back based on the selected call-back option andstoring scheduled call-back information in a database; dynamicallyassessing demands on the call routing system in relation to availableresources; reallocating resources in the call routing system based atleast in part on the selected call-back option; retrieving, using theprocessing unit, the scheduled call-back information from the databaseand forwarding the call-back information to a voice response unit; andcalling, using the voice response unit, the at least one caller from theselected call center based on the selected call-back option.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising determining unavailability inrelation to a threshold based on at least one of length of queue,priority of caller, and availability of system resources.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein priority of the caller is based on informationstored in database including at least one of caller identity, calleraccount status and business relation.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinproviding multiple selectable call-back options comprises providing aweb site address through the voice response unit and allowing the atleast one caller to schedule call-back options through the web site. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamically assessing demandson the call routing system in relation to available resources using theprocessing unit, the demands including a number of live callers and anumber of scheduled call-backs.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein theavailable resources include a number of agents available to answer callsand a number of agents performing scheduled call-backs.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the call routing system is a virtual call centerintegrating telephony with computers.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe step of providing multiple call-back options is triggered at leastin part by a priority of the caller.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe priority is measured based on one of caller identity and calleraccount status.
 10. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingthe multiple call-back options through a voice response unit.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the multiple call-back options comprise atleast one of: calling the caller upon an availability of the resourcesin the call routing system; calling the caller at a specific time;calling the caller during a specific time range; and calling the callerat a relative time.
 12. A computer-implemented call routing systemincluding a processing unit, voice response unit, and a storage device,the system for providing call-back options to callers making inboundcalls to a call center, the system comprising: a receiver module thatreceives inbound calls at a call routing system; a central serverimplementing the processing unit for collecting information related toat least one inbound call from at least one caller, the central serverselecting, based on the collected information, a call target located atone of multiple call centers for the at least one caller and determiningunavailability of the call target at the selected call center based onthe collected information for the at least one inbound call; aninteractive module implementing the processing unit, the voice responseunit and the storage device, that provides multiple call-back options inresponse to the at least one inbound call for the at least one caller toreceive a call-back and receives at least one selected call-back optionfrom the caller; a resource module implementing the processing unit thatdynamically assesses demands on the call routing system in relation toavailable resources that reallocates resources in the call routingsystem based at least in part on the selected call-back option; and atelephone module that calls the at least one caller from the selectedcall center based on the at least one selected call-back option.
 13. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the central server further implements theprocessing unit for determining unavailability in relation to athreshold based on at least one of length of queue, priority of caller,and availability of system resources.
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein priority of the caller is based on information stored indatabase including at least one of caller identity, caller accountstatus and business relation.
 15. The system of claim 12, whereinproviding multiple selectable call-back options comprises providing aweb site address through the voice response unit and allowing the atleast one caller to schedule call-back options through the web site. 16.The system of claim 12, wherein the resource module further dynamicallyassesses demands on the call routing system in relation to availableresources using the processing unit, the demands including a number oflive callers and a number of scheduled call-backs.
 17. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the available resources include a number of agentsavailable to answer calls and a number of agents performing scheduledcall-backs.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein the call routing systemis a virtual call center integrating telephony with computers.
 19. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein providing multiple call-back options istriggered at least in part by a priority of the caller.
 20. The systemof claim 19, wherein the priority is measured based on one of calleridentity and caller account status.
 21. The system according to claim12, wherein the interactive module provides the multiple call-backoptions through a voice response unit.
 22. The system of claim 12,wherein the multiple call-back options comprise at least one of: callingthe caller upon an availability of the resources in the call routingsystem; calling the caller at a specific time; calling the caller duringa specific time range; and calling the caller at a relative time.